Stove



H. E. MILLS April 29, 1941 STOVE Fi1e d Jan. 22. 1937 Patented Apr. 29, 1.941

UNITED STOVE Herbert E. mus. Detroit', meh.. assixnor u Burg- Warner Corporation, a corporation of Illinois Application January 2z, 1937, serial No. 121,127 4 (Cl. 12s- 39) broiler compartment at the same time as she uses This invention relates to stoves and has particular V reference to an oven door spring catch which is useful in connection with thermostatically controlled ovens.

In thermostatically controlled ovens there has always been the problem of how to reduce oven heat when broiling in the broiler compartment is desired. Broiling for the most part requires a' higher temperature than oven cooking and, when' the latter is done in a thermostatically controlled oven, broiling has presented a problem because it is the heat in the oven, rather than the heat in the broiler compartment, whichV governs the thermostatic control of theoven. Therefore, a means for reducing oven heat, when, at the saine time, broiling i's desired, is thought to be a simple panacea for this difiiculty.

A principal object of this invention, therefore,

' is to provide in a space between the broiler .outer wall and inner'ljning a firmly securedspring catch which is cooperative with one of the oven door hinges and operable for keeping the oven door slightly ajar when lbroiling is desired, thus allowing the oven heat to escape and permitting the process of broiling to be carried out without the fear of the thermostatic control system in the oven compartment ,shutting off thesource of heat to the broiler. l

Another object of this inventon is to provide a catch spring for the oven door of a stove which k is operable therewith for keeping said door ajar when broiling is desired, said spring beingv concealed within a pocket provided therefor between the broiler compartment outer side wall and inner lining.

Another object of this invention is to provide concealed means for enabling the process of broiling to be carried out in the broiler compartment of a stove without interruption or fear of interference .caused by thermal conditions pre-v vailing in the oven compartment.V

Another object of this invention is to provide an oven door catch spring which cooperates with a portion of the oven door and serves to keep the latter ajar when broiling in the broiler compartment is desired, whereby the heat formed within of a frame member Il (reenforced by and suitably.

the thermostatically controlled oven compartment is allowed to escape therefrom, thus preventing the inadvertent shutting otr'of the fuel supply tothe burner as would otherwise occur if thevheat were allowed to stay within the oven compartment.. Y

Another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive combination of means for allowing the operator of a domestic range to use her her. oven -compartment without fear of the heat generated in the latter causing the control system to turn oilthe fuel supply to the former,

For a better understanding of the invention,

reference may be had tothe following specification taken in conjunction with thel accompanying drawing of which there is one sheet and in which:

Fig. l is aside view, partly in section and partly n in elevation, of a portion of astove, namely, a.

part of the oven and broiler compartments, and. showing the elements thereof more or less dia-- grammatically with some of said portions being broken away, and illustrating to some extent in detail the application of the invention thereto;

Fig. 2 is a` sectional plan view oi the invention disclosed in Fig. l and taken along the lines 2-2 of the latter figure:

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevational view taken along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2 `and showing morel orless principally the disposition of the elements of the invention with respect to themeans for concealing same between the lining and panel of one of the stove walls.; and v Fig. 4 is purely a diagrammatic sketch of the I `thermostatic control system and showing its as' sociation with the gas source.

The figures are confined to a portion only f a domestic gas range, namely, to that portion of the stove which is devoted to the oven and broiler v compartments. The stove itself ,is shown as being supported at the front by means .of aframe member I0 (reenforced by and suitably connected f to another member I2) and at the back by means connected to another-member I6) The side supporting members are not shown, but are nevertheless provided. An oven compartment is shown diagrammatically at I8, and a broiler compartment at 20.1 Common to compartments I8 and 20 is a stove rear wall, generally ,indicated at 22,*'and a stove side wall, generally indicated at 24, said walls being secured in any conventional Y manner to the aforementioned framesfor being ,supported thereby.

Oven compartment I8 is provided adjacent walls 22 and 2| and is insulated and spaced from the top burner compartment (notshown) and the various utility compartments (not shown) which are usually provided in the modernY type domestic, range. An oven door, generally indicated 'at-26,'is provided for closing the oven compartment I8 and is preferably of the bottom-hinge typ. T he two inner walls of compartment Il are each provided with a rack support 28, each being removably secured to its respective wall by means of studs 36 which are xedly mounted thereon.

readily seen that rack supports 28 are provided' each with a series of guide means for permitting removable rack 32 to occupy a plurality of selective elevations within compartment I8.

The floor assembly of compartment I8 consists Y of a plate 86 adapted for supporting an oven floor tray 88, said plate and tray being supported and -held in position by means of a front reenforcing means 46 (which itself is supported by 4means of a front and central stove frame or brace member 42), and by a rear supporting means 44, means 44 being firmly secured to a portion of the stove rear wall 22 in any suitable manner, such as by spot welding.

f Broiler compartment -26 is disposed directly below oven compartment I8 and is separated therefrom by the floor assembly of compartment I8. Compartment 26 is preferably provided with a sliding drawer arrangement (same not being specifically shown), but has at least, as is shown,

a door. generally indicated at 45. At 46 is shown the bottom of compartment 26 'and same may be either a oor or the supporting means for the broiler drawer, if the latter is used. Member 46 is secured at-ether end thereof in any suitable the inner and outer portions of the wall dividingl compartments I8 and 26 from the burner and utility compartments. Support 12 is spot welded or otherwise secured to inner portions of each of the two walls and has the portion thereof which supports pin 66 somewhat bent away from the portion of said wall so that pin 66 can be easily installed therein. This bend occurs at 18.

, Side wall 24, which has been said to be common to both the oven and broiler compartments, Y

is a compound structure comprising, in addition to the panel member 16 and liningmember 14, a slab of insulating material 86 disposed between 'members 14 and 16. Material 86 is continuous throughout the space provided therefor except for the portion which is broken away in order to provide a pocket 82, the walls of which are formed by means of a box-like structure 84 one wall of which is defined by 'lining- 14. Within pocket 82 and nrmly secured to the inner face of lining 14 is a bracket 86. One end of bracket 86 breaks away from lining 14 in order to form a supporting portion for a bar spring 88 which is secured to said supporting portion by means of a nut and bolt arrangement 66. Spring 88 projects vertically upward from bracket 86 for a substan' tial distance and then is bent in a V-shape as at l 82. Both bracket 86 and vspring 88 are adapted to be concealed from view within pocket 82.

The underside of the lower portion of V-shapedv portion 82 of spring 66 is adapted to be contacted by the cam portion 66 of hinge 56 when door 26 manner to the front and rear walls of. the

broiler compartment. The door 45 of compartment 26 is of compound structure andhas a front panel 41, a rear lining 46, and an inter-lining of insulating material 48.

Oven door 26 is a heavy compound structure comprising a door panel 56, a door lining 52, and a nlling of insulating material 54 therebetween. To each lower corner of door 26 is secured a cup-shaped angle portion 56 of a camshaped hinge 58 which is fulcrated about a point by means of a pin 60, the portion of hinge 58 opposite the angle portion 56 being adapted for movement into and out of a slot 62 which is provided therefor in a recessed portion of -the jamb of the door seat. 'I'he security between door 26 and the angle portion 56 of hinge 58 is had by disposing portion 56 within door 26 between A panel 56 and lining 52 and securing same in place by means of a brace 64 which is secured tothe cup-shaped portion of angle 56 of hinge 58 and itself secured in any conventional manner to a face of the oven door lining brace (not shown). which lies between the fulcrum point 66 and the angle portion 56 Vis formed to provide an outwardly extending cam or roller portion 66 which is predetermined in shape and has a hole therethrough in which is disposed a pin 68 which is adapted to have rotatably secured thereto a roller 16. The hinge just spoken of is preferably that one which is adjacent the wal1'24, but not necessarily so.

As has been said, each of the hinges 58 is fulcrated by means of a pin 66. Pin 66, 1n general,

'I'heportion of one of the hinges 58 is in its closed position A(as is shown by the full lines of Fig. 1); when door 26 is in a partially opened position (as is shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1), the cam portion 66 of hinge 58 is adapted to contact the upper side of the upper portion of the V-shaped portion 82 of spring 88. It will be seen, thereforeythat the strength of i spring 88, together with its V-shaped portion 82,

are adapted to lend opposition to the opening of door 26 as well as to the closingr thereof (the latter being elfective after the door has been closed to the extent shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1).

The lower portion of lining 14 of wall 24 is adapted to have secured thereto an angle iron 94 by means of cap screws 86. In a hole provided therefor in a portion of angle 84 a pin 88 is loosely mounted and is adapted for supporting and holding in place a coilv spring |66 one end of which is hooked into and through an opening |62 provided therefor in lining 14 of wall 24. Spring |66 is coiled around pin 88 and backs up on itself to provide and terminate in a hook portion |64. Engageable with and linked to hook portion |64 of spring |66 is a hook arm |66 the end thereof opposite thereto being hooked into l.andlthrough an opening provided therefor in a portion of hinge 58 which is disposed between its fulcrum point 66 and cam portion 66. It will be seen that the combination of spring |66 and hook |66 operates to lend opposition to the opening of the oven door 26 and also to facilitate the closing thereof after same has been opened, and that only one of such spring mechanisms is necessary, but that it is possible to provide one for each of the hinges 56.

'I'he rear stove wall 22, which is common to both the oven and broiler compartments, is a compound structure comprising a back wall |66,

.bracket or stop guide as at |24 for the slidable movement therethrough of a switch rod |23, said rod extending from t-he rear of the stovetothe jamb of the oven compartment opening by passing through that wall of compartment I3 opposite the wall 24 and projects outwardly -from said jamb after having .passed through ai guide |23 provided therefor in said wall, whereby rod |23 is reciprocable responsive to the opening and closing of oven door 26. 'I'he lower portion of the wall |33 termi-g nates in an angle formation which is spot welded or otherwise secured to the rear frame member I4.

Lining ||3 of wall 22 has a flanged opening provided therein as at |33 which is adapted not only for exposing the lens |32 of the oven light assembly ||3 but also for supporting and centering same. A snap ring |34 is provided for securing lens |32 in place against a forward flanged portion of reflector ||3. Lining ||3 is also provided, near the base thereof, with a vent or opening |33 which is adapted principally to allow a passage of secondary air therethrough. For keeping the insulation 2 in its place', and also for supporting same, there is provided a member |33 which -supports the insulation from underneath and is spot welded to the inner face of lining ||3 at a point above the opening |33 therein, and is secured to the inner face of wall |33 by means of a nut and bolt arrangement |43.

Theend of rod |23 opposite the' end which is contacted by the oven door 23 'is adapted toop erate a lever |42 which is associated with the oven light `switch, generally indicated at |44, switch |44 being secured in place behind the stove by means of a switch bracket |43 which is secured to the stove back wall |33 by means of a series of nut and bolt arrangements |43. When the oven doorY is closed, the switch lever |42 is in the position shown in Fig. l and is adapted in that position to break the oven light circuit: when the oven door is opened, the pressure on rodl26 is thereby relieved and the switch lever |42 is adapted to springforwardly and thus close the circuit whereby the oven light is turned on. The'only part ofthis mechanism which is exposed to the operator is that part -ofv rod |23 which projects for a short distance-outwardly through a hole in the jamb of the oven compartment opening.

I'he wiring of switch |44 to the oven light receptacle assembly |22, and the wiring-from the electric source to and from switch |44, are not shown but are hooked up in a conventional man ner so as to permit the light circuit to be open when the oven door is closed and, on the other hand, to permit the light circuit to be closed when the oven door is open.

A cover (not shown) for the top burner comf partment (not shown) is provided and is pivotally connected to a slide rod V|33 which is suitably adapted for permitting the cover to drop out of sight, as a result of a downward and backward motion given to the cover, when the top burners (not shown) are put in use. The top end of rod ably secured, as by spot welding, to the imdersid'e, of the top portion of the stove rear' frame member |4. A coil spring |34 is provided `in telescopic relation to the portion oi.' rod |33 disposed, directly above stop |32 and hasl one of its vends suitably secured to that portion of rod |33 to which it is adjacent. The spring' |34 is of predetermined length and strength so that the burner box cover can be lowered out of sight only to a certain depth and so that the replacement thilof to normal positionwiil be aided by said Disposed in the upper portion of broiler com'- partment 23, Vand adapted for broiling or oven heating purposes, is a burner |36 which is suitably supported by a rod |33 and-having burner openings |33. Rod |33 'is adapted for supporting burner |33-inasmuch as it itself is rigidly supported .by means of a bracket, |32 which is in turn Y supported by the central stove frame member '42.

Burner |33' includesamiixer tube |34 oneend of which terminates in a bell mouth |63 which is v provided with the usual air openings (not shown) and the usual valve mechanism (not shown), the other end of which is connected to the manifold or feed line |33 (after having passed through a combination manual and automatic control valve diagrammatically illustrated at |33).

an obscure position in the oven compartment |3 (so as to be out of the way and at the same time directly reacted upon by the heat in the compartment I3) is disposed a thermostatic Bulb or element |13. Element |13 can .be any means whatsoever which will suitably reect the eifectof the temperature within compartment I3 upon the valve mechanism 33. The communication between the element |13 and the valve |33 is had by means of a'conduit or extension |12 of element |13 connected to said valve. Valve |33, controlledeither automatically by the element |13 or manually by a handle |14, is adapted ist is provided with saidpivotai connection (not shown) the other end of said rod being insertable to inter-associate itself with the effect of the oven heat, the gas source |33, and the burner mixer tube |34, so that after the desired temperature hasl been reached in the oven, the eilect of said temperature will be reilected Yu pon the mechanism in valve |33 so that the source of fuel to the burner will thereby be cut off. And, when this desired temperature does cut off the fuel supply to the burner, it simply means that not only is oven heating brought to a'n end, but also is broiling. To prevent this inadvertent cutting ofl.' of the fuel supply to the burner when both the oven and broiler compartments are in use, the spring 33 is provided which will necessarily keep the `oven door aiar and permit the escape of a certain amount of heat from the oven compartment and thereby allowbroiling to be continued without the interruption otherwise caused by the temperature regulating system associated with the oven compariznent.

It is to be understood that the invention is'not to be considered as limited to the embodiments and applications thereof which have been selected for the purposes of illustration, but is intended. rather, to embrace and include all other embpdimerits and applications of the new and useful principles thereof, which are to be considered reasonably within the scope of the appended claims.

I'clai i r 1 1. In "stove, an oven compartment having an opening for providing access thereto, a door for closing said a broiling compartment ar- I |32, said stop being Sult- 4ranged below said oven compartment, a heating'` element disposed in said broiiing 'compartment and adapted for heating said oven compartment,

thermostatic means associated with said heating element forvregulating the supply of energy thereto and having an element thermally asso*- ciated with saidoven compartment so that said thermostatic means may be set for controlling said heating element to provide a selected tem* perature condition within `said oven compartment, .a support in said broiiing compartment Y below said heating element for supporting a vfood product to be hroiled by said heating element, and means associated with said door to said oven compartment'for maintaining said door ajar so as 'to prevent the operation of said thermostatic means when it is desired .to use said heating element i'or -broiling food in said broiiing compartment.

2. In a stove having an oven compartment with a door for closing same, a heating element arranged te supply heat to said oven compartment, a -broiling compartment below'said oven compartment and in which said heating element is arranged, thermostatic means for controlling the supply .of energy to, said heating element, a heat responsive element for actuating said thermo` y partment and arranged to supply heat thereto,

a broiiing compartment below said oven compartment and in which said heating lelement is arranged, thermostatic' means for controlling the supply of energy to said heating element, a power element for said thermostatic means and arranged to respond to changes of temperature in said oven, a cam member secured to said door and a spring secured to said stove between opposite faces oi' one of said walls and associated with said-cam'for opposing the closing of said door whereby the temperature in said oven compartment is prevented from rising to a point whereby said thermostatic means will interrupt the supply of energy to said heating element.

4. Ina stove having an oven compartment with side walls, a door mounted on' a horimntal pivot for closing said compartment, a heating element arranged to supply heat to said oven compartment, a broiiing compartment below said oven ,ccnnpartinent and in which said heating element is arranged, thermostatic means for controlling the supply of energy to said heating element, a heat responsive element for actuating said thermostatic means and positioned to be affected by the temperature in said oven, a cam member secured to said door and a concealed spring secured to said stove between opposite faces oi one oi said walls and associated with said cam for opposing the closing of said door whereby the temperature within said oven compartment is prevented from rising to a point where said thermostatic means will interrupt the supply of energy to said heating element;

HERBERT E. NELIS. 

